Air India plans to add 35 new planes this year as the airline prepares for consolidation and expansion, by flying to more number of international as well as domestic routes, informed Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India, while emphasising that Air India needs to be competitive in fares with attractive schemes.
“I expect almost 35 new planes to join the Air India family during 2017 and all of us need to be in full readiness to receive them, fill them and fly them,” Lohani said in a New Year message to the employees.
With the addition of the new aircraft, the group would have a fleet of more than 170 planes. Currently, the group has around 140 aircraft.
While Air India has 106 planes, its low-cost international arm Air India Express has 23 aircraft. Besides, there are around 10 planes with Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier that operates on regional routes.
“2017 is going to be a year of consolidation and expansion. We are going to fly to many new international destinations and also connect new domestic destinations as part of the regional connectivity thrust of the government,” Lohani said, adding that ‘fill more and fly more’ is the motto.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Air India marked an operational profit of INR 105 crore, mainly helped by lower fuel costs and increased passenger numbers. Lohani added, “Public perception about the airline is showing an improving trend, which is getting visible, even if marginally in all our performance related indices.”
However, raising concerns about instances of misconduct among the staff, he also urged employees not to do anything that can come in the path of restoring Air India to its original glory. “It pains me when I am made privy to acts of misconduct or witness some employees not displaying adherence to the highest standards of integrity,” he noted.
Air India is staying afloat on a INR 30,000-crore bailout extended by the government.
(PTI)
